Scottish oil tycoon Ian Suttie has put his flagship company First Oil up for sale.

The Sunday Times reports Suttie declined a request from lenders to inject cash into the business as part of a wider restructuring.

First Oil, whose 2015 accounts are listed as “overdue” on the Companies House website, holds a 15 per cent stake in the proposed £4 billion Kraken Development off Shetland.

The Chancellor George Osborne lauded the Kraken Development in 2013 as one which would “create jobs and boost the British economic plan”.

First Oil's website currently lists a number of divestment opportunities, including Kraken, the Lyon exploration prospect, the Norfolk Exploration Area and the Glenn Oil Discovery.

A First Oil spokesperson told the Sunday Times: “The recent substantial reduction in oil price meant that the planned refinancing no longer worked for all parties.”

Accounts filed by First Oil covering the 2014 year to April 30 show the company booked “record” turnover of £138 million, up 47 per cent on the prior year.

However First Oil booked a pre-tax loss of £17.6 million after taking £61.3 million in impairment losses.

First Oil noted it recognised a deferred tax credit of £116.6 million in the 2014 year, the bulk of which related to a deferred tax credit recognised in respect to Antrim Resources (N.I) Ltd, which First Oil acquired in 2014 in a $53 million deal.

As a result of the tax credit, First Oil posted a profit after tax of £98.6 million for the 2014 year.

The company had also noted in 2014 accounts it had successfully refinanced banking facilities with a group of three lenders, first agreed in 2013, which saw it increase borrowing from £80 million to £190 million from a total of four lenders with the final repayment date extended to May 2018.

First Oil said the total new bank facility was “over-subscribed by 23 per cent”, and by the 2014 year end the company noted it had drawn down £150,232,000 under the facility.

Suttie founded First Oil in 2001 and the company now claims to be the largest British independent oil and gas company operating in the UK North Sea.